ELECTRIC GUITAR

ELECTRIC GUITAR; 'The Guitar Is A Precocious Beast'

Published: September 17, 1995

To the Editor:

In his article "On an Instrument Made to Soar, Too Many Plod" [ Aug. 27 ] , Allan Kozinn uses Steve Reich's composition "Electric Counterpoint" as a springboard to bemoan the "wimpy" electric guitar writing of contemporary composers. To state, as Mr. Kozinn does, that current composers still treat the electric guitar like an amplified classical guitar is simply out of touch.

Mr. Reich wrote "Electric Counterpoint" for Pat Metheny, a guitarist celebrated for his ethereal touch and gossamer tone. That the piece seeks to use the lighter hues of the electric guitar is therefore not surprising. In the absence of any other current compositions or composers to support his argument, the reader is left with Mr. Kozinn's assurances that there is, indeed, a problem.

Having spent the last three years playing loud, soaring, contemporary music on electric guitar in concert halls around the world, I find Mr. Kozinn's statements ill-informed. Big, over-the-top, rude guitar sounds are fast becoming part of the contemporary vernacular as a new generation of composers come of age, the sense of timbre having been shaped by Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page and a host of other guitar-wielding soundsmiths.

Norman Yamada, Lois Weirk, Julia Wolff, Steve Martland, Evan Zeporwn, Annie Gosfield, Michael Gordon, Michael McGuire and even Ralph Shapey (who loves the whammy bar) are a short list of composers all writing "big" electric guitar parts. That most of these composers have had their works performed at Lincoln Center during the past two years makes Mr. Kozinn's article all the more perplexing.

Difficulties abound when a musical instrument, having evolved within an oral tradition, is then used to support a written tradition. However, the guitar is a precocious beast. Having leapt from the brothels to the concert stage earlier in this century, it now attempts a similar feat, starting this time from the garage.

One wishes that Mr. Kozinn could have attended last year's Fromm concert at Tanglewood. I was playing "big garage" guitar with Bang on a Can in Seiji Ozawa Hall, and there sat Leon Fleischer, grimacing, fingers planted firmly in his ears, visibly horrified by the proceedings.

One thing hasn't changed since the garage. We're still asked to turn it down. MARK STEWART New York